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What We Learned From New Wiretap Evidence In The Federal Drug Case

Last week, prosecutors filed a 155-page response document in an ongoing fight over wiretap evidence against trainer Jason Servis and a handful of other defendants in the well-known federal drugs case. While it remains unclear when U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil will rule on a series of motions to exclude intercepted phone, text, and email conversations among the defendants, the response did include previously unpublished transcripts that shed new light on the case.

The response document addressed a series of separate and joint motions from veterinarian and drug maker Dr. Seth Fishman, drug sales representative Lisa Giannelli, Jordan Fishman, veterinarians Dr. Erica Garcia and Dr. Alex Chan, and trainers Jason Servis and Christopher Oakes. Although the defendants structured their arguments somewhat differently, they are asserting that the wire tap evidence was acquired illegally — both because FBI investigators did not use other investigative techniques available to them, and because the applications for new and ongoing surveillance were deceptive to the judges who signed off on them.

Prosecutors, predictably, dispute the defendants' assertions, citing legal standards regarding probable cause and existing evidence justifying each new request. Their response was primarily designed to address the legal arguments at hand, not specifically to reveal to the public new information about the case. For that reason, there are some snippets of transcript where names or other details are omitted or redacted, so some of the new transcripts lack context. Still, there were a few new details of interest to the racing public following the case at home.

You can read the full response document here.

Nick Surick was the origin point for some defendants in this case. When drug adulteration and misbranding charges were first announced against 27 defendants in March 2020, prosecutors said (rather cryptically) that those March arrests were the fruit of a different investigation that had bled over into horse racing. We still don't know what that investigation was, but we know that the FBI began looking at Jorge Navarro because of his association with Standardbred trainer Nicholas Surick. Navarro entered a guilty plea in August. Surick, originally charged with drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy and obstruction, was left off a superseding indictment filed in November 2020, but his case is not listed as closed in the federal system. It remains unclear whether he has taken a deal with prosecutors. The FBI became aware of Navarro when it intercepted its communications with Surick in January 2019, at which point it had been investigating Surick “and others” for “months.”Navarro is framed in the document as “both a facilitator of Surick's doping activities and as a kind of doping 'mentor.'” Navarro and Surick had conversations about Northern Virgin, a horse Surick allegedly hid twice from racing officials in order to avoid their taking an out-of-competition sample from the horse. Surick said he had administered a blood builder to the horse relatively recently when they arrived to test the horse.
Navarro and Servis may have had help from track security to conceal their doping activities. The document contains a number of transcripts of conversations between Navarro and Servis as they compared doping programs and shared information about testing and security. Each of them made reference to having connections with individuals in racetrack security who let them know when searches were imminent. The document does not specify who those individuals may be or which racetrack one or both connections were located.
Servis' program involved two versions of clenbuterol. Conversations between Navarro and Servis also refer to “regular” clenbuterol and “other” clenbuterol, which they believe have different detection times in drug tests. Prosecutors say that both versions of clenbuterol were used without valid prescriptions. It's never specified what the difference is between the two, but regulators have reported finding compounded clenbuterol in the course of investigations which is designed to be significantly more potent (ten times more potent, in some cases) than the commercially-available, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved version. Prosecutors speculate that the use of clenbuterol, which is considered a legitimate therapeutic drug, in this context is likely to point to abuse of the drug for its anabolic effects.
Dr. Kristian Rhein may have been party to questionable activities beyond the scope of this case. Rhein, who was the track veterinarian for Servis and many others, entered a guilty plea in this case in late July and agreed to forfeit more than $1 million of proceeds he generated from illegal drug sales. Apparently, he knows where some metaphorical bodies are buried on the backstretch — in an intercepted conversation with Servis, Rhein recalled an unnamed individual whom Servis had been complaining about.”He is such a little bitch,” Rhein said. “He is just a little sawed-off bitch. I worked for him. I mean I worked for him. He had me shock waving horses. He would leave me these notes. They were hidden in his drawer and then we used to use Decadurabalin [Deca-Durabolin, a trade name for anabolic steroid nandrolone]. I used to use Winstrol [a steroid] and he was like 'Don't you dare put that on the bill.”
“Wow,” Servis said.”I'm like … you know … so this guy, he talks out of both sides of his mouth,” Rhein said.

“Yeah he does and one day somebody is going to write a fucking book,” Servis responded. “It is going to be a groom or a vet somebody and he is going to hang them all out.”

“Yeah, believe me we could,” said Rhein. “I was there. I mean, I know these hypocrites. I mean I did all these guys work. I know who was using and who was not, who needed to, who didn't, I mean. I don't say it lightly, but shit. I was doing [several other individuals — not named in the document], I had all those barns. I was doing all their lameness. And these guys were the first ones that wanted you to do it, 'hey what can we do?' … Like I said, it is never on a bill. It is never on a bill. That is the problem.”

(We don't know who he's referring to, either. Remember, tips can be emailed to us at Ask Ray.)
Rhein was also giving off-label bisphosphonates. An intercepted call between Chan and Servis on June 17, 2019 discussed Rhein's use of Tildren — an FDA-approved bisphosphonate labeled for use in horses four years old and up. Chan said Rhein had been giving the drug to 2-year-olds “at like half dose.” Chan also told Servis (incorrectly) that the drug was cleared for horses three years old and up. Further, he incorrectly said “it's one of those things that's easy to test for but it's just they can't mark it property so they don't really know when you gave it. But you know now that they have the rule that it should be four and up and you really have no excuse if they found it in your 2-year-old. You know what I mean, but if like it was a 4-year-old then you could be like, 'Oh man it got it sometime before I got the horse' or something like that.” Read more about bisphosphonates here.
Prosecutors say wire taps were the only way to uncover much of this evidence, because the defendants were careful. In addition to coordinating with each other to anticipate and evade barn searches and out-of-competition testing, the wire taps reveal that the defendants were cautious about who they offered their services to. FBI agents did not believe they could successfully plant an undercover agent in any of the trainers' or veterinarians' businesses to surveil them, and pointed out that monitoring outside barns, even using pole cameras and other hidden recording devices, would be more likely to be spotted than they would be to capture evidence of a horse being injected. Even if they did get video of an injection, it would not be enough to show what the substance was and whether it was adulterated. Besides those logistical challenges, conversations between Fishman and Giannelli made reference to whether unnamed potential clients could “be trusted,” suggesting that they were unwilling to do business with someone they thought may inform to officials on their program, or who may administer drugs in a way that would get them caught. One informant lost connection with Surick after rumors surfaced in October 2018 that the informant (also unnamed) had begun cooperating with law enforcement. Read more about the difficulties of investigating illegal drugs in racing in this commentary from the Paulick Report.
Seth Fishman's operation was extensive and complex. While much of the focus on Medivet Equine seems to be its SGF-1000 and TB-1000 products, Seth Fishman's catalogue was much larger. In a phone call between Navarro and Seth Fishman, Navarro asked Fishman for “that amino acid injectable shit that you sent me” which prompted Fishman to later ask for more specificity, as he said he had “hundreds of products.” Fishman also said he created customized programs, and sometimes even customized substances, for each trainer client he had. His theory was that if one trainer were caught, regulatory authorities would immediately begin looking for the drug or drugs used by that person. Fishman believed he had a better chance at remaining in business if each substance combination was unique enough that the discovery of one wouldn't necessarily reveal others. Fishman told potential customers the benefits of using a non-commercially available (non-FDA approved) drug were that many were untestable. “Unless somebody turns you in to the race jurisdiction, no one is going to test for it because it's not known until it is known,” he said.
Some defendants could not remember the names of the drugs they were using and did not seem to know what was in them. At various times, Navarro referred to SGF as HGF. Servis referred to Maximum Security having received the “KS” and was later corrected by Rhein to say it was “the SG.” Rhein, who was distributing SGF-1000, had a lot to say about how SGF-1000 could not appear in post-race tests, and if anything, would show up as collagen or maybe dexamethasone. (Note: we ran this 'SGF as dexamethasone' theory by testing experts, and they were clear it was virtually impossible for one drug to be confused with another in post-race testing.)But although Rhein said the substance would not test positive for any “growth factors,” he did not seem to understand whether SGF-1000 contained “growth hormone.” In one conversation with Servis, Rhein said, “So, but…between you and me, because [of] the testing, they called me from the test center here and I was like, 'What's up?' They go, 'Do you know anything?' So what they called it, they called it 'growth hormone.' They were like 'You're using some sheep growth hormone.' I go, 'No, it has no growth hormone whatsoever in it.' And I said, 'It tested as collagen, which is a protein. A fine…there is nothing wrong with it.' I told him the name of the gentleman that [had tested] it in California. I said 'His name is [redacted].' He goes, 'Oh, I know him.' I said, 'The Jockey Club had it tested. They were all freaked out, they thought it w'And he said, 'Listen, somebody dropped a dime on me.' And I was like, 'What?' They are like, 'Yeah.' So all we need to do…I'm not going to say anything to anything else. I'm just going to tell [co-defendant veterinarian] Alex [Chan] and people like that. Like it is not on any of our bills. It never is.”
In a separate conversation with co-defendant Michael Kegley Jr., who has entered a guilty plea, Rhein said, “Make sure there is no growth hormone in there because if they are calling it that, and it is in there then we'll — we need to — but I can't imagine there is. There's no — I can't — I don't think a fetus [i.e., the source of the purported sheep placenta from which SGF-1000 is derived] has growth hormone in it. There's just — I don't — I don't think fetal placenta membranes have growth hormones. You know, I'll do some research tonight but I don't believe that's correct.

“I think it could have something that stimulates it … Well here's the thing is, I don't think it does. And just because they can test for it, doesn't mean they will. Now if it has growth hormone, I mean, it costs them a lot of money to test. A lot of money. And then the second thing is, how long is something in there. Well if we're giving it five to seven days out then we're fine. It's not gonna hang around. It's — nothing hangs around long. EPO doesn't hang around that long.”
When MediVet Equine did find out what was in SGF-1000, they hid it. Exhibit documents revealed a letter sent by the makers of SGF-1000 to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium in September 2019, complaining that their product should not be called out by the organization as “illegal.” MediVet Equine provided a copy of test results from a test it ordered via Industrial Labs, showing that the substance was negative for IGF-1 and Follistatin. What MediVet Equine didn't tell RMTC was that the testing on SGF-1000 had come back positive for acepromazine, leavamisole, detomidine, pyrilamine, lidocaine, MEGX, xylazine, and caffeine. No further explanation is revealed in the document as to why those substances were present in the sample.
Defendants seem to have a lot of information — or at least, they believe they have a lot of information — about drug testing. When consulted by a panicking Surick about attempts at out-of-competition testing for Northern Virgin, Navarro assured Surick that the “real EPO” (as opposed to “generic EPO” also referenced by the two men) would be testable for three days. At four days, regulators would “see a cloud but they don't know what the fuck it is … Now five days, you are good. Now with the one here, they can't find anything.” Fishman also boasted that one of his products, a blood builder, had been given to a horse in New Jersey who was out-of-competition tested 12 hours later. The test sample was sent to a laboratory in Hong Kong, and the test came back negative. Rhein also revealed he had some contact with testing officials.”I mean, I know because I met the guy inadvertently when The Jockey Club took a box of the SGF,” he told Servis. “They took it and I met the guy, and I met the guy down at the conference, and he goes, 'The Jockey Club.' And he saw the hat that I had on was the same [equine pharmaceutical] company, and he goes, 'Oh, man I just tested a box of that stuff.' And I go, 'What stuff?' And he goes 'MediVet. You've got a hat on—SGF. Yeah, Jockey Club sent it to me out in California. Yeah, it came back as just a bunch of collagen. Nothing interesting [unintelligible]. These guys think it's got something that can be like a PED.” He goes, 'There's nothing in it.' And he was the actual head of the testing lab.”
We got a few more details about the drugging of Maximum Security. Servis' barn was the subject of at least two out-of-competition testing rounds in June 2019. on June 5, samples were pulled from Maximum Security, and test samples were pulled from other horses on June 3. Servis and assistant Henry Argueta (who was named on the original indictment but absent from the November 2020 superseding indictment) speculated that the commission may have been looking for clenbuterol administration outside of a prescription. Servis then called Rhein on June 5, seeming to seek reassurance that the out-of-competition test would be negative.
Servis: Hey. So they've been doing some out-of-competition testing, which I have no problem with. Um, they took Maximum Security Monday and they came back again today. But Monday he got the KS. I just want to make sure we are all good with that.Rhein: Wait, what did he get?Servis: I'm sorry, I said “KS.” The, you know, your shot. The…
Rhein: Oh, the SG.

Servis: Yeah, that stuff.

Rhein: Yeah—no, no, no. The Jockey Club tested it, and I met the guy who tested it way back when. It comes back as collagen. They don't even have a test for it.

Servis: It will probably come up with [dexamethasone] probably, right?

Rhein: Yeah, that's it. It will be dex. It will be dex. It will be like—that's it. And I've had them, I had them pull some stuff, and I was like, “Oh, [expletive], I wonder what will happen?” Nothing. Nothing. I mean and the guy said SGF doesn't even test close, thank god. But the only thing will be the AZM and you can just say he
was like hives or something, but…

Servis: Right. But they're not even going to ask me about it.

Rhein: They won't, even.

Servis: Because you're allowed to have that anyways. Dex, I mean.

Rhein: He's allowed. He's allowed. So [unintelligible] I don't know. I've done it. I've had it tested. Jockey Club did it, and I've had at least three different times it's been tested on horses that I gave it the day before and nothing. Not a word.

Servis: Yup.

Rhein: There's no test for it in America. There's no testing. There's nothing.

Servis: Okay, that's fine.

The post What We Learned From New Wiretap Evidence In The Federal Drug Case appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Wiretaps Reveal Alleged Dopers’ Bravado, Ignorance and Fears

Newly disclosed transcripts of intercepted phone conversations involving alleged doping co-conspirators Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro reveal both an initial brazenness against getting caught and an utter ignorance about some of the substances the two now-barred trainers were purportedly injecting into their racehorses.

According to a previously unreleased collection wiretapped calls made public last week by federal prosecutors, Servis and Navarro didn't always know the names of some the illegal pharmaceuticals they purportedly administered to their horses. Nor were they always clear on exactly what those substances were or what they did.

But the two trainers who amassed gaudily high win percentages during the 2010s decade prior to getting arrested on doping conspiracy charges in March 2020 seemed to agree on one certainty—that those illegal concoctions worked remarkably well to make Thoroughbreds run faster.

“He sent me something with amino acid right last year. And I [expletive] gave it to this horse,” Navarro allegedly said in a Jan. 25, 2019, wiretapped call, one of many secretly recorded by law enforcement officials. “This [expletive] galloped. Galloped!”

But the alleged doping scheme might have been working too well. Two months later, when Servis's bravado had started to give way to fear, Servis allegedly told Navarro in another wiretapped call that he was “scared to death” because “the horses are running like crazy.”

Navarro's response was to laugh and reply, “You're killing them, buddy!”

Another set of intercepted calls that spring—after Servis's trainee, Maximum Security, crossed the wire first in the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby but was DQ'd for interference—depicts Servis as continually wanting validation from Kristian Rhein, a now-suspended veterinarian formerly based at Belmont Park, that SGF-1000 was “untestable” by regulators.

Rhein, according to the wiretaps, not only provided Servis with that reassurance, but he also allegedly disclosed how he hid PED charges on bills to clients and knew of Olympic-level sport horses that were clearing international drug tests after using the very same pharmaceuticals.

On Aug. 11, 2021, Navarro cut a deal with federal prosecutors in which he admitted to doping and pled guilty to one count in the years-long conspiracy in exchange for having a similar second count against him dismissed. One week earlier, Rhein had pled guilty to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding for use in the covert doping of Thoroughbreds. At that court hearing he directly implicated Servis, who was his regular client.

Servis is still fighting his drug conspiracy charge. On Aug. 3, the same day that Rhein implicated him, Servis' and other co-defendants filed a motion to get the government's wiretapped calls thrown out as evidence.

When federal prosecutors on Sept. 2 filed paperwork in support of allowing the wiretaps, the 155-page document contained the widest release yet of intercepted call transcripts. TDN is publishing them here in chronological order, edited for clarity.

March 3, 2019: Navarro and Michael Tannuzzo, a now-barred trainer, allegedly discuss modeling a doping program on a horse based on one Navarro used on his star sprinter, X Y Jet.

Navarro: What I'm going to do is tap his ankles, put him in a series every week with SGF. I'm just trying [to get] my vet to give me a good price, man, because I want to [expletive] tap every week.

Tannuzzo: You're going to tap him every week?

Navarro: Yeah, with SGF that's what I did with X Y Jet. I'm going to call my vet up north, my surgeon, to see how he did it to X Y Jet and that's it. Don't worry man, you're in good hands. Don't worry.

Tannuzzo: You're talking about the HGF, not the SGF.

Navarro: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The SGF whatever. The thing that you sent me the
syringe.

Tannuzzo: Yeah.

Navarro: Yeah, yeah. And [this undisclosed horse] is getting one of those SGF 1000 whatever. He's getting one today.

March 5, 2019: Navarro and Servis allegedly discuss PEDs, and made their first mention (to each other) of a drug that they also referred to as “SGF.”

Navarro: And if you know something new, if you know about something new, don't forget about your man, okay? Don't forget about your man.

Servis: I'll tell you what, Jorge. I'm using that [expletive] shot. What is it, SGF?

Navarro: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I got, uh, I got more than 12 horses on that so I'll let you know, okay?

Servis: I've been using it on everything, almost.

Navarro: Jay, we'll sit down and talk about this [expletive]. I don't want to talk about this [expletive] on the phone, okay?

Servis: All right. You're right.

An undated interception from around the same time frame between Servis and Navarro involves Navarro's alleged provision of an irregular (as opposed to “regular”) version of clenbuterol for Servis.

Servis: You got my message yesterday, right?

Navarro: Yeah, yeah, I got it.

Servis: I mean…

Navarro: But also the head of security was looking for me, he's a good friend of mine, so I think he was going to tell me too [It is not disclosed which racetrack they are referring to].

Servis: Okay.

Navarro: Just…just…just follow everything he does, cause he could be a [expletive].

Servis: Okay.

Navarro: All right. The only thing, any medications, pills and stuff, you have to have it
under lock.

Servis: That was the only thing we didn't have cause [unintelligible] didn't go in today. [Unintelligible] said [unintelligible] got to have everything locked up.

Navarro: Yeah. Yes, that's the only thing, and I have cases of GastroGard. I…he confiscated all that three years ago, but he gave it right back to me, cause I had an attorney and everything that I was going to sue him and, ah…Like generic GastroGard, so everything has to be labeled.

Servis: He gave [unintelligible] a bunch of [expletive] about generic acid. I got [an] expensive colt that went to Palm Beach Equine. They want omeprazole with, uh, something else in it.

Navarro: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He could be a [expletive] about that. He could be a [expletive].

Servis: I mean, Jorge, [unintelligible] time to bullshit around about regular clenbuterol. Them horses, the three win the other day, they are just on regular.

Navarro: Yeah, well I…

Servis: You know how long.

Navarro: Well it came in already. I have it at home, but [expletive] I'm afraid. I'm afraid to bring it over.

Servis: No, I'm scared to death right now.

Navarro: Ha, ha, ha!

Servis: The horses are running like crazy.

Navarro: Buddy, you're killing them, buddy. You're killing them.

Servis: But I ain't doing it. I'm [expletive only using] just regular [clenbuterol]…But when the dust settles I'd like to get some [irregular clenbuterol].

On June 5, 2019, Servis allegedly calls Rhein to discuss concerns with drug testing, namely the possibility that the New Jersey Racing Commission would discover Servis's use of SGF-1000.

Servis: You got a minute?

Rhein: Sure, sure, sure.

Servis: Are you by yourself?

Rhein: Yeah, yeah, yeah I just walked out of the barn.

Servis: Hey. So they've been doing some out-of-competition testing, which I have no problem with. Um, they took Maximum Security Monday and they came back again today. But Monday he got the KS. I just want to make sure we are all good with that.

Rhein: Wait, what did he get?

Servis: I'm sorry, I said “KS.” The, you know, your shot. The…

Rhein: Oh, the SG.

Servis: Yeah, that stuff.

Rhein: Yeah—no, no, no. The Jockey Club tested it, and I met the guy who tested it way back when. It comes back as collagen. They don't even have a test for it.

Servis: It will probably come up with [dexamethasone] probably, right?

Rhein: Yeah, that's it. It will be dex. It will be dex. It will be like—that's it. And I've had them, I had them pull some stuff, and I was like, “Oh, [expletive], I wonder what
will happen?” Nothing. Nothing. I mean and the guy said SGF doesn't even test close, thank god. But the only thing will be the AZM and you can just say he
was like hives or something, but…

Servis: Right. But they're not even going to ask me about it.

Rhein: They won't, even.

Servis: Because you're allowed to have that anyways. Dex, I mean.

Rhein: He's allowed. He's allowed. So [unintelligible] I don't know. I've done it. I've had it tested. Jockey Club did it, and I've had at least three different times it's been tested on horses that I gave it the day before and nothing. Not a word.

Servis: Yup.

Rhein: There's no test for it in America. There's no testing. There's nothing.

Servis: Okay, that's fine.

Rhein: There's nothing you did that would test.

Servis: So Monday they took Max and they got three other horses. Actually, they got two. They were looking for [Sunny Ridge] and I told them he's at Belmont. I think they got him today, Henry [Argueta] said. But they took a 2-year old filly that ran the other day and finished fourth. Um, and I'm thinking, “Why the [expletive] would they want to take her?” But maybe they are just doing random or maybe looking for clenbuterol. I don't know.

Rhein: Yeah, that's what I am wondering. I'm wondering if it's clenbuterol they are
looking for.

Servis: Right, because [at] Parx you are not allowed to have it on the grounds.

Rhein: That's really an odd thing and that horse, I guarantee, has never had any [expletive like] that. I mean, I know because I met the guy inadvertently when The Jockey Club took a box of the SGF. They took it and I met the guy, and I met the guy down at the conference, and he goes, “The Jockey Club.” And he saw the hat that I had on was the same [equine pharmaceutical] company, and he goes, “Oh, man I just tested a box of that stuff.” And I go, “What stuff?” And he goes “MediVet. You've got a hat on—SGF. Yeah, Jockey Club sent it to me out in California. Yeah, it came back as just a bunch of collagen. Nothing interesting [unintelligible]. These guys think it's got something that can be like a PED.” He goes, “There's nothing in it.” And he was the actual head of the testing lab.

Servis: Yeah, I think you told me.

Rhein: Yeah, so you are golden. And like I said, we have had it done two or three times here. Nothing.

Servis: Okay.

Rhein: [The expletive] I just had that I gave to some horses, and they just took it.

Servis: Well, that's what I'm saying. That horse got it Monday.

Rhein: Yeah.

Servis: And then they come in and test it [unintelligible].

Rhein: No, but they won't. It's—you know, I promise. It's never been anywhere, anyway, anyhow, and I got guys going through [international equine drug testing] that is 50 million times stricter, because these guys are giving it for their horses in the Grand Prix. They give it to them. The Grand Prix jumping. So I have like three horses that are gold medal—well, medal winning—horses in the Olympics, and they are all on it. And they go right through the [testing] box and it's far stricter than anything we got.

Servis: All right, Kristian. Just want to make sure.

Later on June 5, 2019, following his conversation with Rhein, Servis allegedly places a call to another individual (whose identity is not disclosed) regarding falsely listing “dex” on veterinary records to obscure the use of SGF-1000.

Servis: Yeah, so I just want to give you a heads up. So they pulled blood on some horses Monday. One of them is Maximum Security, and then they pulled it again today. Um, and I talked to Kristian [Rhein]. I mean the shots shouldn't be a problem because, you know, it may come up as dex. I don't know if you cover your ass if they want to look at a [veterinary] bill and see if the horse why he got dex or some…I just wanted to give you a heads up with the dex because that horse, you gave it to him Monday, I think, right?

Individual: Yeah, he got the dex Monday.

Servis: Yeah, I don't know if [regulators might question] why did he get dex [if] it's not on the bill, or something.

Individual: Nah. [Unintelligible] put it down. [Unintelligible] put it down. Got it.

The following day, June 6, 2019, Servis and Rhein allegedly continue their conversation about SGF-1000 and the untestable nature of it.

Rhein: On what we were talking about the other day—there is no problem with it. But, like, somebody squealed around here about it.

Servis: Okay.

Rhein: So that is the only thing that we should be cautious of. I got a…I got a couple of…

Servis: That's the SGF?

Rhein: Uh-huh.

Servis: Okay.

Rhein: So somebody squealed. Not that it is testing, or that…there's no…it's untestable. It's that they were crying about it. I don't know why. They didn't tell me who. But somebody is crying about it.

Servis: Okay.

Rhein: So it's just, just that we know. I just wanted to let you know that I, you know…the guy said this is a big, higher-up official. I was like, “What are they? Is it some weird test? Or is something coming back?” And he was like, “No, not at all.”

Servis: Okay. I just, like I said, they pulled blood the same day that he got it, that is what threw me off.

Rhein: Yeah, well, this was the…I'm not worried in the sense of anything going wrong with it because, like I said, the guy already tested it, so it's not that. It's more people crying.

Servis: Right, right.

Rhein: It's more people crying about it and I am sure, as you well hear. Believe me, more people come up to me and bitch and cry about you. They are like, “Oh, he is cheating, he is cheating, he is cheating.” I was like, “Yep, sure.” I said, “They test all of his horses over and over and over again.”

Servis: I know. I hear it all the time.

Rhein: I know you do. So, but…between you and me, because [of] the testing, they called me from the test center here and I was like, “What's up?” They go, “Do you know anything?” So what they called it, they called it “growth hormone.” They were like “You're using some sheep growth hormone.” I go, “No, it has no growth hormone whatsoever in it.” And I said, “It tested as collagen, which is a protein. A fine…there is nothing wrong with it.” I told him the name of the gentleman that [had tested] it in California. I said “His name is [redacted].” He goes, “Oh, I know him.” I said, “The Jockey Club had it tested. They were all freaked out, they thought it was this, they thought it was that.” I said, “So, it has been tested up and down.” And he said, “Listen, somebody dropped a dime on me.” And I was like, “What?” They are like, “Yeah.” So all we need to do…I'm not going to say anything to anything else. I'm just going to tell [co-defendant veterinarian] Alex [Chan] and people like that. Like it is not on any of our bills. It never is.

Servis: What about is [the drug] on your truck?

Rhein: No, nah. I don't take it on my truck. I just, when they call for, it I just have it. Come and get it.

Servis: Well, if you want us to back off, I mean, I have no problem with that.

Rhein: No, no, no, no, I mean, I'm going to find out some more. I just wanted you to know. I mean, I'm not worried. I am not worried because it has been tested, you know? And the person that just called me is the guy who tests. So I'm not worried about that. We do it further out. I mean all those things. So I am not trying to be clever or tricky or anything. This guy said “Listen, I am letting you know.” And I said…

Servis: Right, somebody dropped a dime on you.

Rhein: Put it this way: They have no test, period, but we don't get close. We never do. I mean I don't get close with it.

Servis: Yeah, we are 10, 12 days.

Rhein: Exactly. The rules of New York say anything outside of seven days is anything that is not listed. And this is truly listed as a biologic. So if they really want to fight, guess what? A biologic in New York is forty-eight hours [withdrawal time].

Servis: Right.

Rhein: Because that's all it is.

Servis: The only thing I was concerned with is, is it FDA approved?

Rhein: Well, no, no. Not that I know of.

Servis: That's the only thing I was thinking, I don't…does it have to be?

Rhein: Well, no, because, no. I mean, there is so many things. That is the beauty of being a veterinarian. As a veterinarian you are allowed to use any drug that you think would be…and this is not even considered a drug. It has no drug in it, it is literally just a purified protein from a sheep's placenta.

Servis: Right.

Rhein: So, I was like, look this isn't a drug, this isn't manufactured. So the Federal Drug Administration, they wouldn't approve it anyway, just because it is not a drug. Yeah, so, I just want to beware. I am not like, “Oh my God!” panicked.

Servis: Yeah, because I use it down here.

Rhein: [Expletive]. I love the stuff. I mean, you should see like, tendons.

Rhein: He [an undisclosed individual about whom Servis had previously complained, presumably a trainer] is such a little bitch. He just is a little sawed-off bitch. I worked for him. I mean, I worked for him. He had me shock-waving horses. He would leave me these notes. They were hidden in his drawer. And then we used to use Deca-Durabolin. I used to use Winstrol, and he was like, “Don't you dare put that on the bill.”

Servis: Wow.

Rhein: I'm like, you know, so this guy, he talks out of both sides of his mouth.

Servis: Yeah, he does. And one day somebody is going to write a [expletive] book. It is going to be a groom or a vet somebody and he is going to hang them all out.

Rhein: Yeah, believe me we could. I was there. I mean, I know these hypocrites. I mean I did all these guys' work. I know who was using and who was not, who needed to, who didn't. I mean. I don't say it lightly, but [expletive], I was doing [vet work for several other individuals]. I had all those barns. I was doing all their lameness. And these guys were the first ones that wanted you to [enhance performance]. “Hey what can we do?”

Servis: Yeah.

Rhein: And then they were like, so…We will be fine. Like I said, it is never on a bill.
It is never on a bill. That is the problem.

Servis: I have been billing it Baycox in Florida and here.

Rhein: Oh, good. Good. No, I think we do…ours are totally innocuous so…and I bill a
lot of mine as like acupuncture. I'm an acupuncturist. I'm a trained…licensed acupuncturist. So, that is for me why I do it. They can't say I am not. I have my advanced degree for equine acupuncture.

On July 10, 2019, Servis and Argueta allegedly discuss concerns about getting caught administering PEDs.

Servis: Be careful man, Henry, with that. Really careful, because…

Argueta: Yes?

Servis: Because we are getting really good.

Argueta: Yeah, no.

Servis: All we need is a problem like that. Oh, with the Derby and [expletive]. Oh my god.

Argueta: Yeah. Then they glad they are looking for us in the tree.

Servis: Yeah, they will.

Argueta: They are going to be in the tree looking for you with their binoculars.

Servis: What?

Argueta: The mounts right after the road.

Servis: Right.

Argueta: They'll be over there. They be there looking for you.

Servis: No they'll be in a van or a car with black windows you won't be able to see in.

Argueta: Ha, ha!

Servis: You know what I am saying. But they can see out.

Argueta: Yeah, but what are they going to see? Nobody going to see nothing. What are they going to see? Nothing.

Servis: Right.

Argueta: We don't do nothing—ha, ha! They can look wherever they want to look.

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Government Says Servis Wiretaps Legit

United States Attorneys have filed an opposing motion to deny barred trainer Jason Servis and his fellow defendants' motions to suppress the wiretaps placed on their cell phones, along with the seized physical and electronic evidence from a search of veterinarian Seth Fishman's belongings.

The opposing motion was filed Sept. 2nd in the Southern District of New York by U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, who writes, “the defendants' motions are entirely without merit and should be denied in full.”

On Aug. 3, lawyers representing Servis filed a motion to have evidence against him that was obtained through wiretaps thrown out. Attorneys Rita Glavin and Michael Considine charged that the government obtained authorization from a court to tap into Servis's phone based on a sworn affidavit from an FBI agent that, they contend, “contained deliberately or recklessly false statements and the material omission of statutorily and constitutionally required information.”

The Servis legal team argued that the wiretap evidence should be thrown out because using it represents a violation of Servis's Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment reads, in part: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”

But the government argues in its opposing motion that law enforcement was led to Servis through an earlier investigation of now-barred Standardbred trainer Nick Surick, of whom they say the ruled-off Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro was his “doping mentor.”

Navarro on Aug. 11 cut a deal with federal prosecutors in which he pled guilty to one count in the years-long Thoroughbred doping conspiracy in exchange for having a similar second count against him dismissed.

“This case arose from an investigation into overlapping and widespread schemes by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, drug distributors, and others to obtain money through lies, deceit, and active concealment of sophisticated doping of racehorses through the use of purportedly `untestable' drugs,” the filing states, adding that the investigation revealed ample evidence of Surick and Navarro's efforts to “obtain, share, distribute, discuss, use, and conceal various performance-enhancing drugs that they each intended to be, and believed to be, untestable by racing authorities.”

The facts uncovered in that investigation, the filing states, “informed the application for the initial wiretap of Navarro's cellphone and those of Navarro's co-conspirators,” including Servis.

“Initial and renewal interceptions over the Navarro Phone indicated that: (1) Servis was actively assisting Navarro to conceal Navarro's doping practices by `tipping off' Navarro to the presence of racetrack officials; (2) Navarro was willing to confide in Servis regarding his own doping practices and about his own corrupt relationship with an unnamed racetrack security official; (3) Navarro believed that Servis had his own corrupt relationship with a racetrack security official; and (4) Servis further participated in Navarro's doping scheme as a recipient of an unspecified, “[ir]regular” version of Clenbuterol, which Servis wished to obtain after assuring himself that regulators were not scrutinizing the Servis operation too closely,” the government filing argues.

“The scheme being investigated was exceedingly complex,” the filing states. “There were ample intercepted conversations indicating that the drugs distributed amongst a number of the Target Subjects by design would not be on drug tests.”

One such intercepted conversation allegedly occurred on Jan. 25, 2019, between Navarro and another defendant, the now-barred harness trainer Christopher Oakes. Oakes had allegedly created his own customized “drench” by which performance-enhancing drugs [PEDs] were forced directly into a horse's stomach through a tube inserted via the nostril.

In that wiretapped call, Navarro allegedly discussed “this crazy [expletive] Seth [Fishman]” with Oakes, describing an injectable drug that Fishman had allegedly sent to Navarro in 2018: “He sent me something with amino acid right last year. And I [expletive] gave it to this horse. This [expletive] galloped. Galloped.”

Navarro then allegedly asked Oakes for help in obtaining more of that that drug, or another that Navarro could use. Oakes purportedly offered up a different untestable PED that he had developed, allegedly explaining that “this drench I got dude, they can test you all day, night, before, after. [This drench] has got a ton of those branch chain amino acids in it [and there is] zero chance you get caught, [even when administered on] race day.”

Separately, in a Feb. 21, 2019, intercepted call between Fishman and an unnamed racetrack customer, the customer (with no reference to treating a horse for a medical condition) allegedly asked for a blood builder offered by Fishman called BB3.

Fishman later on that call allegedly stated that “building blood is not cheap” because it is “the holy grail [PED] of sports.” Fishman allegedly assured the customer that the blood builder he offered would not test positive, even a few hours after it had been administered.

The government's opposing motion continued: “This discussion, entirely ignored in the Fishman Motion, further underscores that Seth Fishman was not creating and selling substances to comply with applicable racing rules and regulations, but to evade drug testing that would reveal a violation of such rules. Through that evasion, Fishman and his clients attempted to falsely present their horses as eligible to participate in lucrative races, knowing that this was false…”

“Even assuming that drug testing had been widely pursued, drug testing alone would not have revealed the scope of which (untestable) drugs were at issue, which trainers were purchasing drugs from Seth Fishman, or when these trainers were administering these drugs to racehorses in advance of races.

“Indiscriminate drug testing of various racehorses at various times in the hopes of yielding a positive test (ignoring for the moment that the drugs being administered were designed to be undetectable on drug tests) is not `reasonably likely' to have succeeded, or to have obviated the need for a wiretap. In sum, Seth Fishman has provided no justification for why the proposed alternative techniques would be likely to succeed, and not just be `theoretically possible,” the attorneys conclude.

Glavin and Considine are also seeking to have evidence obtained from wiretaps of the phones of Navarro, veterinarian Kristian Rhein and Alexander Chan, a veterinarian who worked with Rhein, suppressed.

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Think You’re a Navarro Victim? Get In Line

Now that the barred Thoroughbred trainer Jorge Navarro has admitted in open court that he doped racehorses and procured performance-enhancing drugs [PEDs] for others between 2016 and 2020, the industry has a $25,860,514 question to kick around between now and when “The Juice Man” gets sentenced Dec. 17.

Beyond Navarro's potential five-year prison term and possible deportation back to his native Panama, the 46-year-old conditioner also must pay restitution to victims in that astronomical amount as per the stipulations of his plea bargain.

Although it is unclear exactly how federal prosecutors arrived at that precise figure, a press release from the United States Attorney's Office (Southern District of New York) states that it reflects “winnings obtained through his fraudulent doping scheme.”

Most likely, the calculation is based on the purse earnings of Navarro's trainees in races that prosecutors deemed he ran doped horses.

As part of the deal he cut with the feds (Navarro pled guilty to one felony count of conspiring to administer misbranded and adulterated drugs in exchange for having a similar second count dropped), Navarro had to affirm to Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil that the government was citing a proper amount of restitution.

For perspective, that massive dollar figure equates to nearly 75% of all the purse winnings Navarro's horses amassed during his 15-year training career.

Whether or not Navarro will ever be able to pay such a daunting amount of restitution based on gross purse winnings (and not the actual net profits from his crimes) is the obvious question.

Equally important–but perhaps more of an exercise in theoretical justice–is who exactly qualifies as a victim of Navarro's crimes to be eligible for restitution?

Let's tackle the “ability to pay” aspect first.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) explanation of the restitution process, “In federal cases, restitution in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars is not unusual. While defendants may make partial payments toward the full restitution owed, it is rare that defendants are able to fully pay the entire restitution amount owed. If and when the defendant pays, you most likely will receive a number of small payments over a long period of time…”

“Realistically…the chance of full recovery is very low. Many defendants will not have sufficient assets to repay their victims. Many defendants owe very large amounts of restitution to a large number of victims.”

A separate 2019 explanation from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states that “Federal prosecutors collect roughly $1 billion a year for the victims of federal crimes. Yet prosecutors will likely never secure more than $1 out every $10 owed.”

As for who qualifies for restitution, that CRS publication offers only broad clues: “As a general rule, a victim is a person [or a business or some other entity] who is physically injured, or who suffers a property loss, as the proximate result of a qualifying offense. A victim may also be someone named as a beneficiary in a plea bargain.”

The logical leap for many racing industry participants is that the people who suffered purse losses by getting beaten by Navarro's hopped-up horses should be at the top of the list for qualifying as victims.

But just think of what a formidable task it would be for federal officials to try and account for each and every racing entity (owners, trainers, jockeys) who is owed some sort of payback for their losses. The effort would span years of races across multiple jurisdictions, and would take on an additional layer of difficulty because some horse ownerships are comprised of multiple individual partners.

And what about bettors who otherwise would have hit winning tickets if Navarro's doped runners didn't taint the outcomes of potentially thousands of races? (This also presumes that they could properly document any pari-mutuel losses to Navarro's juiced horses.)

The good news is that according to the DOJ, there is actually a provision for large numbers of unknown victims to come forward and ask to be included in restitution when authorities don't know the names of each and every individual.

Instead of listing specific victims, the restitution order could say something broad like, “Anyone who owned, trained or rode a horse that finished behind a Navarro trainee in the following list of races.” It would then be the victims' responsibility to come forward and make themselves known.

But the bad news for potential claimants is that federal prosecutors–and the judge–could decide that trying to process such a humongous volume of claims is just too cumbersome a task at a time when the legal system is already overburdened.

In that instance, the DOJ states that, “A court may decline to order restitution if it finds that determining restitution in a case is too complex.”

TDN attempted to contact the U.S. Attorney's office in New York several times last week to try and get a general idea of who might be identified as victims in Navarro's case and what the restitution process might look like.

We're still waiting for a call back from the feds.

It's important to note that Navarro's nearly $26 million in restitution is different and separate from the $70,000 forfeiture that he must pay the government before his sentencing date. That amount represents the value of adulterated drugs that prosecutors deemed Navarro transacted via interstate commerce.

Since the actual drugs themselves cannot be located to be forfeited–presumably, those PEDs long ago coursed through the systems of X Y Jet, War Story, Shancelot, Sharp Azteca, and numerous other Thoroughbreds that Navarro has admitted to drugging–he must forfeit the monetary value of those drugs to the government instead.

Back on Aug. 3, Kristian Rhein, a now-suspended veterinarian formerly based at Belmont Park, changed his plea to guilty on one felony count of drug adulteration and misbranding for use in the covert doping of racehorses. At that hearing it was revealed that the working number the feds are alleging co-defendant Jason Servis won illegally with his purportedly doped trainees is also roughly $26 million.

That's half the $52 million in purses that Servis's trainees bankrolled during his entire two-decade training career between 2001 and 2020.

If Servis ends up getting convicted at a trial (or changes his “not guilty” plea like six other defendants have already done), it's expected that he will be on the hook for that amount in restitution.

Let's assume that Servis, like Navarro, will be unlikely to meet that obligation.

What then, is the purpose of mandating such a large financial penalty if the DOJ is well aware most victims only end up collecting 10 cents on the dollar?

Part of the answer has to do with federal sentencing guidelines.

All sorts of aspects of a crime affect sentencing levels. For example, if a defendant is deemed to have abused a position of public trust, or used a special skill in a manner that facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense (which both Navarro and Rhein admitted to as part of their plea bargains), the penalties increase by two sentencing levels.

But another part of the guidelines states that if a conspiracy causes a financial loss to victims in the range of $25 million to $65 million, the severity of the crime gets bumped up by a much more serious factor of 22 levels.

So even if victims never see any of the money that is due to them via restitution, the fact that both Navarro and Rhein affirmed in their plea bargains that roughly $26 million was the amount of the losses they caused others to incur, it can have significant bearing on how long they'll be sentenced to prison. Hitting that lofty $25-million-loss mark is a key component to stricter sentencing.

If it's any solace to potential victims, remember that federal restitution orders are enforceable for 20 years. So even if Navarro serves his maximum sentence of five years and walks out of jail a free man, victims can still hound him for money 15 years beyond that by securing liens against any property he might have or by suing him in civil court based on his criminal conduct that led to the conviction and issuance of the restitution order.

And here's one last thought: Although it's unlikely to happen, wouldn't it be amazing if Judge Vyskocil declared in the restitution order that the true victims in this case are not people, but all of the Thoroughbreds known to be doped by Navarro?

And in lieu of awarding payments to those individual equine victims, how about if the court instead assigned the restitution benefits to accredited Thoroughbred aftercare and welfare organizations?

Those organizations would probably never get all $25,860,514. But even if Navarro was made to pay as much as he possibly could over the next two decades to help horses, it would seem like fitting retribution as well as worthwhile restitution.

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